Volker Wagner loses control of Teldon in Vancouver

He has sold his controlling interest in the Vancouver-based Teldon Print Media, a $48 million commercial printing outfit with web and sheetfed operations, which has become an employee-owned company. Wagner will continue to hold a minority shareholding with Teldon employees now holding a majority of the shares in the company.

"We are thrilled that employees now have the opportunity to create and share in the success of the company, and fully enjoy the fruits of their labour," said Michael McAdam, Teldon's president, in a company statement.

Established in 1969, in 2003 Teldon acquired three Vancouver-area companies to form Teldon Print Media and become one of the largest print operations in B.C. There will be no change in the day-to-day operational management of the company.

The news will bring little relief to the Australian industry where Wagner flamed briefly, buying up five Sydney printing companies (J Bell Printing, Keith Turner's Nadley, Raul Kilstein's Printing Headquarters, Ben Cribbs' Bestway Berk Printing, and stationery printer Bradlee, Luxton and Dunn) to consolidate them into a local Teldon Print Media Group. It did not work out, with a cash flow crunch causing the whole caboodle to go belly up. Wagner returned to Canada. Pegasus Printing bought the Teldon company from the administrators.

Interested readers can pursue the full history by searching the archive (top left) under Volker Wagner.